People simply couldn't stop talking about Charlize Theron's new film The Old Guard for several good reasons. The Netflix movie has been getting rave reviews for its positive depiction of homosexuality and immersive storyline. However, the one thing that truly stand out about the live-action adaptation of the graphic novel of the same name is the amazing action sequences. Not surprisingly, Theron admitted that it took a lot of preparation to play an immortal warrior.
In The Old Guard, Charlize Theron plays Andy, one of four immortal warriors who are now working as mercenaries. When their identity is discovered by a former CIA agent, Andy and her team look for a way to continue hiding their existence from the world. At the same time, they find another immortal whose powers have been triggered and try to convince her to join their team. Needless to say, these warriors are continously fighting throughout the film and it took a lot of hard work to make them look effortless.
In a special The Old Guard video titled Combat Training, Charlize Theron admitted that playing a centuries-old warrior meant having to look like a real professional. "I obviously have to fight like somebody who has been fighting for 6,000 years and that level of perfection is really hard to come by," Theron says in the video. However, she was quick to point out that she got a lot of help in refining her abilities. "The team that I got to work with on this film really focused on my strengths," she said.
As someone who has lived for thousands of years, it would make sense for Andy to know just about every fighting technique known to man. This meant Charlize Theron trained in martial arts like judo, aikido, silat, kali, hung gar and wushu. Despite all this, Andy's weapon of choice is the labrys, which is a large double-headed axe that Theron admits was a true challenge to wield.
"That was definitely the most challenging out of all of it and then just trying to make it look like I've been holding it for thousands of years," Theron said. However, she didn't back down from the challenge and the stunt team had nothing but praise for the Mad Max: Fury Road star for her dedication to the role. However, Theron simply explains that she wanted to make sure it was all convincing enough for the viewers.
"There's a level of fighting that you want to happen when you're shooting a film like this that doesn't happen in editing, and so you have to work really hard to get your body to a place where you can sustain for long takes at a time," Theron said. "That took a lot of work, it was really amazing."
The Old Guard is currently streaming on Netflix.
